Methods, systems and apparatus for controlling third harmonic voltage when operating a multi-phase machine in an overmodulation region

ABSTRACT

Methods, system and apparatus are provided for controlling third harmonic voltages when operating a multi-phase machine in an overmodulation region. The multi-phase machine can be, for example, a five-phase machine in a vector controlled motor drive system that includes a five-phase PWM controlled inverter module that drives the five-phase machine. Techniques for overmodulating a reference voltage vector are provided. For example, when the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the overmodulation region, an angle of the reference voltage vector can be modified to generate a reference voltage overmodulation control angle, and a magnitude of the reference voltage vector can be modified, based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, to generate a modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector. By modifying the reference voltage vector, voltage command signals that control a five-phase inverter module can be optimized to increase output voltages generated by the five-phase inverter module.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was made with Government support under DE-FC26-07NT43123, awarded by the US-Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in this invention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to techniques for controlling operation of multi-phase systems, such as those that implement five-phase machines, and more particularly relate to methods, systems and apparatus for controlling third harmonic voltage when operating a multi-phase machine in an overmodulation region.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electric machines are utilized in a wide variety of applications. For example, hybrid/electric vehicles (HEVs) typically include an electric traction drive system that includes an alternating current (AC) electric motor, which is driven by a power converter with a direct current (DC) power source, such as a storage battery. Motor windings of the AC electric motor can be coupled to inverter sub-modules of a power inverter module (PIM). Each inverter sub-module includes a pair of switches that switch in a complementary manner to perform a rapid switching function to convert the DC power to AC power. This AC power drives the AC electric motor, which in turn drives a shaft of HEV's drivetrain. Traditional HEVs implement two three-phase pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter modules and two three-phase AC machines (e.g., AC motors) each being driven by a corresponding one of the three-phase PWM inverter modules that it is coupled to.

Many modern high performance AC motor drives use the principle of field oriented control (FOC) or “vector” control to control operation of the AC electric motor. In particular, vector control is often used in variable frequency drives to control the torque applied to the shaft (and thus finally the speed) of an AC electric motor by controlling the current fed to the AC electric motor. In short, stator phase currents are measured and converted into a corresponding complex space vector. This current vector is then transformed to a coordinate system rotating with the rotor of the AC electric motor.

Recently, researchers have investigated the possibility of using multi-phase machines in various applications including electric vehicles. As used herein, the term “multi-phase” refers to more than three-phases, and can be used to refer to electric machines that have three or more phases. One example of a multi-phase electric machine is a five-phase AC machine. In a five-phase system, a five-phase PWM inverter module drives one or more five-phase AC machine(s).

While the possibility of using five-phase systems (e.g., five-phase inverter and motor configurations) in HEVs is being explored, a lot of work remains to be done before these systems can actually be implemented. For instance, in the context of five-phase electrical drives implemented in an HEV, high torque for any given rotation speed is desirable since the maximum torque available allows faster acceleration and deceleration of the HEV, and for better dynamic performance during driving.

It would be desirable to increase output power and available mechanical torque generated by the multi-phase machine so that the efficiency and dynamic performance of the multi-phase machine can be improved. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods, systems and apparatus for controlling operation of a five-phase machine via overmodulation in a vector controlled motor drive system that includes a five-phase PWM controlled inverter module that drives the five-phase machine. In one embodiment, methods, systems and apparatus for overmodulating a reference voltage vector are provided. Overmodulation is used to optimize voltage commands that control the five-phase PWM controlled inverter module to increase inverter output voltages that are generated by the five-phase inverter module and provided to the five-phase machine.

In accordance with one embodiment, a magnitude and an angle of the reference voltage vector are determined based on the voltage command signals (e.g., a synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal and a synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal). It can then be determined whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to one or more thresholds.

For example, it can be determined whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a linear region voltage threshold for a linear modulation region. When the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the linear region voltage threshold, the reference voltage vector is within either a first overmodulation region or a second overmodulation region. To determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the first overmodulation region or the second overmodulation region, it can then be determined whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region.

When the reference voltage vector is determined to be one of the overmodulation regions, a modified magnitude and a modified angle of the reference voltage vector can be generated by modifying the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and the angle of the reference voltage vector.

For example, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be less than or equal to the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region, then the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the first overmodulation region. In this case, the modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector can be generated based on the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and a correction factor coefficient, and the modified angle of the reference voltage vector can be set equal to the angle of the reference voltage vector.

By contrast, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region, the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the second overmodulation region. In one embodiment, when the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the second overmodulation region, the angle of the reference voltage vector can be modified to generate a set of values for the third harmonic magnitude and angle, while maintaining the desired fundamental voltage at the same time. For example, in one implementation, the angle of the reference voltage vector can be modified based on a reference angle speed modification coefficient, a third harmonic magnitude coefficient, and a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient. At the same time, the magnitude of the reference voltage vector can be modified based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, a sector number and a voltage threshold for the linear modulation region.

By controlling magnitude and phase of third harmonic voltage in the second overmodulation region, output voltage of the inverter module can be increased, which allows output power generated by the multi-phase machine to be increased, which can increase torque density and available mechanical torque generated by the multi-phase machine. By increasing output mechanical power and torque, the efficiency and dynamic performance of the machine, as well as utilization of the battery voltage (Vdc), can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one example of a vector controlled motor drive system in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion of a motor drive system including a five-phase voltage source inverter module connected to a five-phase AC motor;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are representations of a state space voltage switching vector diagram that illustrate thirty of thirty-two voltage switching vectors for driving switches in a five-phase inverter module;

FIG. 3C is a table that summarizes different combinations of on/off states of switching vector signals that are used to represent each voltage switching vector that is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B;

FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates a decagon region formed by joining ten large voltage switching vectors normalized to DC link voltage and three distinct modulation regions;

FIG. 5A is a blown up view of sector numbers of FIG. 4 that illustrates modulation regions of FIG. 4 in greater detail;

FIG. 5B is a blown up view of modulation regions of FIG. 5A in greater detail;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart that illustrates a method for overmodulating a reference voltage vector that represents voltage commands that control a five-phase inverter module in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a graph that plots correction factor coefficient k(MI) for the first overmodulation region as a function of modulation index (MI) in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a graph that plots hold angle α_(h)(MI) (in degrees) for the second overmodulation region as a function of modulation index (MI) in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart that illustrates a method for overmodulating a reference voltage vector (Vr, α) that controls a five-phase inverter module that drives a five-phase AC machine in a five-phase system in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates graphs that plot the reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) as a function of the angle (α) of the reference voltage vector in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 11 is a series of graphs that plot a fundamental magnitude change (ΔV₁) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a series of graphs that plot a third harmonic magnitude change (ΔV₃) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 13 is a series of graphs that plot a fundamental phase angle change (Δγ₁) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 14 is a series of graphs that plot a third harmonic phase angle change (Δγ₃) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All of the embodiments described in this Detailed Description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.

Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with the present invention, it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related to controlling operation of a five-phase system. It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. The control circuits described herein may comprise various components, modules, circuits and other logic, which can be implemented using a combination of analog and/or digital circuits, discrete or integrated analog or digital electronic circuits or combinations thereof. As used herein the term “module” refers to a device, a circuit, an electrical component, and/or a software based component for performing a task. In some implementations, the control circuits described herein can be implemented using one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more microprocessors, and/or one or more digital signal processor (DSP) based circuits when implementing part or all of the control logic in such circuits. It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention described herein may be comprised of one or more conventional processors and unique stored program instructions that control the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions for controlling operation of a five-phase system, as described herein. As such, these functions may be interpreted as steps of a method for controlling operation of a five-phase system. Alternatively, some or all functions could be implemented by a state machine that has no stored program instructions, or in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certain of the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, a combination of the two approaches could be used. Thus, methods and means for these functions will be described herein. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

Overview

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods, systems and apparatus for overmodulation in a five-phase system. The disclosed methods, systems and apparatus for controlling operation of a five-phase system and regulating current provided to a five-phase machine can be implemented in operating environments such as a hybrid/electric vehicle (HEV). In the exemplary implementations which will now be described, the control techniques and technologies will be described as applied to a hybrid/electric vehicle. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the same or similar techniques and technologies can be applied in the context of other systems in which it is desirable to control operation of a five-phase system and regulate current provided to a five-phase machine in that system when one or more phases has experienced a fault or failed. In this regard, any of the concepts disclosed here can be applied generally to “vehicles,” and as used herein, the term “vehicle” broadly refers to a non-living transport mechanism having an AC machine. Examples of such vehicles include automobiles such as buses, cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles, vans, vehicles that do not travel on land such as mechanical water vehicles including watercraft, hovercraft, sailcraft, boats, ships, mechanical under water vehicles including submarines, mechanical air vehicles including aircraft and spacecraft, mechanical rail vehicles such as trains, trams, and trolleys, etc. In addition, the term “vehicle” is not limited by any specific propulsion technology such as gasoline or diesel fuel. Rather, vehicles also include hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, and vehicles which operate using various other alternative fuels.

As used herein, the term “alternating current (AC) machine” generally refers to “a device or apparatus that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy or vice versa.” AC machines can generally be classified into synchronous AC machines and asynchronous AC machines. Synchronous AC machines can include permanent magnet machines and reluctance machines. Permanent magnet machines include surface mount permanent magnet machines (SMPMMs) and interior permanent magnet machines (IPMMs). Asynchronous AC machines include induction machines. Although an AC machine can be an AC motor (e.g., apparatus used to convert AC electrical energy power at its input to produce to mechanical energy or power), an AC machine is not limited to being an AC motor, but can also encompass generators that are used to convert mechanical energy or power at its prime mover into electrical AC energy or power at its output. Any of the machines can be an AC motor or an AC generator. An AC motor is an electric motor that is driven by an alternating current. In some implementations, an AC motor includes an outside stationary stator having coils supplied with alternating current to produce a rotating magnetic field, and an inside rotor attached to the output shaft that is given a torque by the rotating field. Depending on the type of rotor used, AC motors can be classified as synchronous or asynchronous.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one example of a vector controlled motor drive system 100 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The system 100 controls a five-phase AC machine 120 via a five-phase pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter module 110 coupled to the five-phase AC machine 120 so that the five-phase AC machine 120 can efficiently use a DC input voltage (Vdc) provided to the five-phase PWM inverter module 110 by adjusting current commands that control the five-phase AC machine 120. In one particular implementation, the vector controlled motor drive system 100 can be used to control torque in an HEV.

In the following description of one particular non-limiting implementation, the five-phase AC machine 120 is described as a five-phase AC powered motor 120, and in particular a five-phase, permanent magnet synchronous AC powered motor (or more broadly as a motor 120); however, it should be appreciated that the illustrated embodiment is only one non-limiting example of the types of AC machines that the disclosed embodiments can be applied to, and further that the disclosed embodiments can be applied to any type of multi-phase AC machine that includes five or more phases.

The five-phase AC motor 120 is coupled to the five-phase PWM inverter module 110 via five inverter poles and generates mechanical power (Torque X Speed) based on five-phase sinusoidal current signals received from the PWM inverter module 110. In some implementations, the angular position of a rotor (θr) of the five-phase AC motor 120 or “shaft position” is measured using a position sensor (not illustrated), and in other implementations, the angular position of a rotor (θr) of the five-phase AC motor 120 can be estimated without using a position sensor by using sensorless position estimation techniques.

Prior to describing operation details of the system 100, a more detailed description of one exemplary implementation of the five-phase voltage source inverter 110 will be provided (including how it is connected to the five-phase AC motor 120) with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion of a motor drive system including a five-phase voltage source inverter 110 connected to a five-phase AC motor 120. It should be noted that the five-phase voltage source inverter 110 and the five-phase motor 120 in FIG. 1 are not limited to this implementation; rather, FIG. 2 is merely one example of how the five-phase voltage source inverter 110 and the five-phase motor 120 in FIG. 1 could be implemented in one particular embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the five-phase AC motor 120 has five stator or motor windings 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, 120 e connected to motor terminals A, B, C, D, E, and the five-phase PWM inverter module 110 includes a capacitor 270 and five inverter sub-modules 115-119. In this embodiment, in phase A the inverter sub-module 115 is coupled to motor winding 120 a, in phase B the inverter sub-module 116 is coupled to motor winding 120 b, in phase C the inverter sub-module 117 is coupled to motor winding 120 c, in phase D the inverter sub-module 118 is coupled to motor winding 120 d, and in phase E the inverter sub-module 119 is coupled to motor winding 120 e. The motor windings A, B, C, D, E (120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, 120 e) are coupled together at a neutral point (N). The current into motor winding A 120 a flows out motor windings B-E 120 b-120 e, the current into motor winding B 120 b flows out motor windings A, C, D, E 120 a and 120 c-e, the current into motor winding C 120 c flows out motor windings A, B, D, E 120 a, 120 b, 120 d, 120 e, the current into motor winding D 120 d flows out motor windings A, B, C, E 120 a-c and 120 e and the current into motor winding E 120 e flows out motor windings A-D 120 a-d.

The resultant phase or stator currents (Ia-Ie) 122, 123, 124, 125, 126 flow through respective stator windings 120 a-e. The phase to neutral voltages across each of the stator windings 120 a-120 e are respectively designated as V_(an), V_(bn), V_(en), V_(dn), V_(en), with the back electromotive force (EMF) voltages E_(a), E_(b), E, E_(d), E_(e) generated in each of the stator windings 120 a-120 e respectively, each respectively shown connected in series with stator windings 120 a-120 e. As is well known, these back EMF voltages E_(a), E_(b), E, E_(d), E_(e) are the voltages induced in the respective stator windings 120 a-120 e by the rotation of the permanent magnet rotor. Although not shown, the motor 120 is coupled to a drive shaft.

The inverter 110 includes a capacitor 270, a first inverter sub-module 115 comprising a dual switch 272/273, 274/275, a second inverter sub-module 116 comprising a dual switch 276/277, 278/279, a third inverter sub-module 117 comprising a dual switch 280/281, 282/283, a fourth inverter sub-module 118 comprising a dual switch 284/285, 286/287, and a fifth inverter sub-module 119 comprising a dual switch 288/289, 290/291. As such, inverter 110 has ten solid state controllable switching devices 272, 274, 276, 278, 280, 282, 284, 286, 288, 290 and ten diodes 273, 275, 277, 279, 281, 283, 285, 287, 289, 291 to appropriately switch compound voltage (V_(DC)) and provide five-phase energization of the stator windings 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, 120 e of the five-phase AC motor 120.

Although not illustrated, a closed loop motor controller can receive motor command signals and motor operating signals from the motor 120, and generate control signals for controlling the switching of solid state switching devices 272, 274, 276, 278, 280, 282, 284, 286, 288, 290 within the inverter sub-modules 115-119. Examples of these switching vectors used to construct these control signals will be described below. By providing appropriate control signals to the individual inverter sub-modules 115-119, the closed loop motor controller controls switching of solid state switching devices 272, 274, 276, 278, 280, 282, 284, 286, 288, 290 within the inverter sub-modules 115-119 and thereby controls the outputs of the inverter sub-modules 115-119 that are provided to motor windings 120 a-120 e, respectively. The resultant stator currents (Ia . . . Ie) 122-126 that are generated by the inverter sub-modules 115-119 of the five-phase inverter module 110 are provided to motor windings 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, 120 e. The voltages as V_(an), V_(bn), V_(cn), V_(dn), V_(en), E_(a), E_(b), E_(c), E_(d), E_(e) and the voltage at node N fluctuate over time depending on the open/close states of switches 272, 274, 276, 278, 280, 282, 284, 286, 288, 290 in the inverter sub-modules 115-119 of the inverter module 110, as will be described below.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the vector control motor drive system 100 includes a torque-to-current mapping module 140, a synchronous (SYNC.) frame current regulator module 170, an overmodulation preprocessor 180, a synchronous-to-stationary (SYNC.-TO-STAT.) transformation module 102, an αβ reference frame-to-abcde reference frame (αβ-to-abcde) transformation module 106, a Space Vector (SV) PWM module 108, a five-phase PWM inverter 110, an abcde reference frame-to-αβ reference frame (abcde-to-αβ) transformation module 127, and a stationary-to-synchronous (STAT.-TO-SYNC.) transformation module 130.

The torque-to-current mapping module 140 receives a torque command signal (Te*) 136, angular rotation speed (ωr) 138 of the shaft that is generated based on the derivative of the rotor/shaft position output (θr) 121, and the DC input voltage (V_(DC)) 139 as inputs, along with possibly a variety of other system parameters depending upon implementation. The torque-to-current mapping module 140 uses these inputs to generate a d-axis current command (Id*) 142 and a q-axis current command (Iq*) 144 that will cause the motor 120 to generate the commanded torque (Te*) at speed (ωr) 138. In particular, the torque-to-current mapping module 140 uses the inputs to map the torque command signal (Te*) 136 to a d-axis current command signal (Id*) 142 and a q-axis current command signal (Iq*) 144. The synchronous reference frame d-axis and q-axis current command signals (Id*, Iq*) 142, 144 are DC commands that have a constant value as a function of time.

The abcde-to-αβ transformation module 127 receives the measured five-phase stationary reference frame feedback stator currents (Ia . . . Ie) 122-126 that are feedback from motor 120. The abcde-to-αβ transformation module 127 uses these five-phase stationary reference frame feedback stator currents 122-126 to perform an abcde reference frame-to-αβ reference frame transformation to transform the five-phase stationary reference frame feedback stator currents 122-126 into stationary reference frame feedback stator currents (Iα, Iβ) 128, 129. The abcde-to-αβ transformation can be performed using any known transformation technique including using the matrices defined in equation (1) below.

$\begin{matrix} {\begin{bmatrix} I_{\alpha} \\ I_{\beta} \\ I_{0} \end{bmatrix} = {{\frac{2}{5}\begin{bmatrix} 1 & {\cos\left( \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)} & {\cos\left( \frac{4\pi}{5} \right)} & {\cos\left( \frac{6\pi}{5} \right)} & {\cos\left( \frac{8\pi}{5} \right)} \\ 0 & {\sin\left( \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{4\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{6\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{8\pi}{5} \right)} \\ \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \end{bmatrix}} \times \begin{bmatrix} I_{a} \\ I_{b} \\ I_{c} \\ I_{d} \\ I_{e} \end{bmatrix}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

In equation (1) the column vector that represents the five-phase stationary reference frame feedback stator currents 122-126 is multiplied by a transformation matrix and scaling factor to generate a column vector that represents the stationary reference frame feedback stator currents (Iα, Iβ) 128, 129.

The stationary-to-synchronous transformation module 130 receives the stationary reference frame feedback stator currents (Iα, Iβ) 128, 129 and the rotor angular position (θr) 121 and generates (e.g., processes or converts) these stationary reference frame feedback stator currents (Iα, Iβ) 128, 129 to generate a synchronous reference frame d-axis current signal (Id) 132 and a synchronous reference frame q-axis current signal (Iq) 134. The process of stationary-to-synchronous conversion is well known in the art and for sake of brevity will not be described in detail.

The synchronous frame current regulator module 170 receives the synchronous reference frame d-axis current signal (Id) 132, the synchronous reference frame q-axis current signal (Iq) 134, the d-axis current command (Id*) 142 and the q-axis current command (Iq*) 144, and uses these signals to generate a synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal (Vd*) 172 and a synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal (Vq*) 174. The synchronous reference frame voltage command signals (Vd*, Vq*) 172, 174 are DC commands that have a constant value as a function of time for steady state operation. Because the current commands are DC signals in the synchronous reference frame they are easier to regulate in comparison to AC stationary reference frame current commands. The process of current to voltage conversion can be implemented as a Proportional-Integral (PI) controller, which is known in the art and for sake of brevity, will not be described in detail.

The overmodulation preprocessor 180 receives the synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal (Vd*) 172 and the synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal (Vq*) 174. As will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 3-14, the overmodulation preprocessor 180 processes these voltage command signals 172, 174 to generate a modified synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal (Vd**) 182 and a modified synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal (Vq**) 184. The modified voltage command signals (Vd**, Vq**) 182, 184 are optimized such that output voltage signals generated by the inverter module 110 can be increased via overmodulation. The processing performed by the overmodulation preprocessor 180 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3-14.

The synchronous-to-stationary transformation module 102 receives the modified voltage command signals (Vd**, Vq**) 182, 184 as inputs along with the rotor position output (θr) 121. In response to the modified voltage command signals (Vd**, Vq**) 182, 184 and the measured (or estimated) rotor position angle (θr) 121, the synchronous-to-stationary transformation module 102 performs a dq-to-αβ transformation to generate an α-axis stationary reference frame voltage command signal (Vα*) 104 and a β-axis stationary reference frame voltage command signal (Vβ*) 105. The stationary reference frame α-axis and β-axis voltage command signals (Vα*, Vβ*) 104, 105 are in the stationary reference frame and therefore have values that vary as a sine wave as a function of time. The process of synchronous-to-stationary conversion is well-known in the art and for sake of brevity will not be described in detail.

The αβ-to-abcde transformation module 106 receives the stationary reference frame voltage command signals (Vα*, Vβ*) 104, 105, and based on these signals, generates stationary reference frame voltage command signals (Vas* . . . Ves*) 107 that are sent to the Space Vector (SV) PWM module 108. The αβ-to-abcde transformation can be performed using any known transformation technique including using the matrices defined in equation (2) below.

$\begin{matrix} {\begin{bmatrix} V_{a} \\ V_{b} \\ V_{c} \\ V_{d} \\ V_{e} \end{bmatrix} = {\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \\ {\cos\left( \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \\ {\cos\left( \frac{4\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{4\pi}{5} \right)} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \\ {\cos\left( \frac{6\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{6\pi}{5} \right)} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \\ {\cos\left( \frac{8\pi}{5} \right)} & {\sin\left( \frac{8\pi}{5} \right)} & \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} \end{bmatrix} \times \begin{bmatrix} V_{\alpha} \\ V_{\beta} \\ V_{0} \end{bmatrix}}} & (2) \end{matrix}$

In equation (2) the column vector that represents the stationary reference frame voltage command signals (Vα*, Vβ*) 104, 105 is multiplied by a transformation matrix and scaling factor to generate a column vector that represents the stationary reference frame voltage command signals (Vas* . . . Ves*) 107.

The five-phase PWM inverter module 110 is coupled to the SVPWM module 108. The SVPWM module 108 is used for the control of pulse width modulation (PWM) of the signals 107. The SVPWM module 108 receives the stationary reference frame voltage command signals (Vas* . . . Ves*) 107 as inputs, and uses these signals to generate switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109, which it provides to the five-phase PWM inverter module 110. The particular SV modulation algorithm implemented in the SV PWM module 108 can be any known SV modulation algorithm.

The switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109 control the switching states of switches in PWM inverter 110 to generate five-phase voltage commands at each phase A, B, C, D, E. The five-phase PWM inverter module 110 receives the DC input voltage (Vdc) and switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109, and uses them to generate five-phase alternating current (AC) voltage signal waveforms at inverter poles that drive the five-phase AC machine 120 at varying speeds (ωr).

The five-phase interior permanent magnet synchronous machine 120 receives the five-phase voltage signals generated by the PWM inverter 110 and generates a motor output at the commanded torque Te* 136. In this particular implementation, the machine 120 comprises a five-phase interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) 120, but can be any five-phase AC machine.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the system 100 may also include a gear coupled to and driven by a shaft of the five-phase AC machine 120. The measured feedback stator currents (Ia-Ie) are sensed, sampled and provided to the abcde-to-αβ transformation module 127 as described above.

Voltage Switching Vectors

Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) is implemented at the SVPWM module 108 and inverter module 110 to control pulse width modulation (PWM) to create alternating current (AC) waveforms that drive the five-phase AC powered machine 120 at varying speeds based on the DC input 139.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are representations of a state space voltage switching vector diagram that illustrate thirty of thirty-two “state space” voltage switching vectors (V1 . . . V30) for driving switches in a five-phase inverter module 110. FIG. 3C is a table that summarizes different combinations of on/off (0/1) states of switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109 that are used to represent each voltage switching vector that is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. As described above, the switching states of switches in PWM inverter 110 are controlled using voltage switching vectors (switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109) to generate five-phase stationary reference frame feedback stator currents 122-126. The five-phase voltage source inverter module 110 must be controlled so that at no time both switches in the same inverter sub-module 115-119 or “leg” are turned on to prevent the DC supply from being shorted. As such, the switches in the same inverter sub-module 115-119 are operated such that when one is off the other is on and vice versa. As illustrated in FIG. 3A and as summarized in FIG. 3C, this leads to thirty-two possible voltage switching vectors for the inverter 110 with thirty active voltage switching vectors (V1 through V30) and two zero voltage switching vectors (V0 and V31). Each voltage switching vector (V0 . . . V31) is used to represent the switching status of switches of the five-phase voltage source inverter 110 in FIG. 2. In other words, each of the thirty-two voltage switching vectors (V0 . . . V31) represents a different combination of possible switch states of the switches in the five-phase voltage source inverter 110.

To explain further, in a given phase (A . . . E) at any particular time, one of the switches is off and the other one of the switches is on (i.e., the two switches in a particular inverter sub-module must have opposite on/off states). For instance, as one example with respect to phase A, when switch 272 is on, switch 274 is off, and vice-versa.

As such, for a particular inverter sub-module, the on/off status of the two switches in that inverter sub-module can be represented as a binary 1 or binary 0. For example, when the upper switch in a given phase is on (and the lower switch is off) the value of a bit will be one (1), and when the lower switch in a given phase is on (and the upper switch is off) the value of a bit will be zero (0). For instance, as an example with respect to phase A, when the upper switch 272 is on (and the lower switch 274 is off) the value of the first bit (from left to right) will be one (1).

Accordingly, in FIG. 3A, each of the active voltage switching vectors (V1 . . . V30) is illustrated along with a corresponding five bit binary number in the parenthesis next to that active voltage switching vector. In FIG. 3B, each voltage switching vector identifier (V1 . . . V30) has an identifier that identifies a corresponding switch state associated with the particular voltage switching vectors. The first bit (from left to right) represents the state of the switches 272, 274 for inverter sub-module 115 for phase A, the second bit (from left to right) represents the state of the switches 276, 278 for inverter sub-module 116 for phase B, the third bit (from left to right) represents the state of the switches 280, 282 for inverter sub-module 117 for phase C, and so on.

Thus, the active voltage switching vector (V1) represents a case when, with respect to phase A, the upper switch 272 is on (and the lower switch 274 is off) and the value of the first bit (from left to right) will be one (1); with respect to phase B, the upper switch 276 is on (and the lower switch 278 is off) and the value of the second bit (from left to right) will be one (1), with respect to phase C; the upper switch 280 is off (and the lower switch 282 is on) and the value of the third bit (from left to right) will be zero (0), with respect to phase D; the upper switch 284 is off (and the lower switch 286 is on) and the value of the fourth bit (from left to right) will be zero (0), and with respect to phase E; the upper switch 278 is on (and the lower switch 290 is off) and the value of the fifth bit (from left to right) will be one (1). Hence, the active voltage switching vector (V1) has a corresponding switch state bit pattern (11001). In other words, the switch state represented by voltage switching vector (V1) is (11001), meaning phases A, B, E are high, while phases C and D are low.

The zero voltage switching vector (V0) represents a switching scenario where, with respect to phases A-E, all of the upper switches are off (and all of the lower switches are on). Hence, the zero voltage switching vector (V0) has a corresponding switch state bit pattern (00000), which indicates that all of the upper switches in all five phases A-E are off and that all of the lower switches in all five phases A-E are on. Similarly, the zero voltage switching vector (V31) has a corresponding switch state bit pattern (11111), which indicates that all of the upper switches in all five phases A-E are on and that all of the lower switches in all five phases A-E are off.

As indicated in FIG. 3B, the voltage switching vector diagram includes ten (10) sectors with sector numbers (1 . . . 10) increasing in the counter-clockwise direction. Each of the sectors (1 . . . 10) is defined between two of the ten active voltage switching vectors (V1 through V10). These ten sectors are used to control the switching of switches in the PWM inverter 110 to control the current in the motor 120 based on the operating conditions. FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates a decagon region formed by joining ten large voltage switching vectors normalized to DC link voltage and three distinct modulation regions. As illustrated in FIG. 4, only the ten large voltage switching vectors (i.e., V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, V9, V10) and the zero voltage switching vectors (V0, V31) are utilized to maximize fundamental output voltage for a given DC link voltage. As will be described further below, in each PWM cycle, the two most adjacent active voltage switching vectors (i.e., those bounding the sector) for any particular sector and the two zero voltage switching vectors (V0, V31) are used to generate PWM waveforms called modified switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109 (FIG. 1) for phases A . . . E, respectively. The switching vector signals (Sa . . . Se) 109 are provided to the gates of the switches in the five-phase voltage source inverter 110 in FIG. 2 to control switching of these switches.

As is also illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4, when the ten large voltage switching vectors (i.e., V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, V9, V10) are joined via lines, this forms a decagon region 310.

FIG. 4 further illustrates that the decagon region 310 defines three distinct modulation regions 410, 420, 430 (indicated via circles) that will be referred to below as a linear modulation region 410, a first overmodulation region 420, and a second overmodulation region 430. Similar modulation regions are defined amongst any combination of two large voltage switching vectors. Each of the modulation regions 410, 420, 430 will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5A, which illustrates a blown up view of sector numbers 1-3.

FIG. 5A is a blown up view of sector numbers 1-3 of FIG. 4 that illustrates modulation regions and 410, 420, 430 in greater detail. In addition, FIG. 5A also illustrates a reference voltage vector having a magnitude (Vr) 540 and angle (α) 542, a linear region voltage threshold (Vlin) 550 for a linear modulation region 410, a first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for a first overmodulation region 420, a second voltage threshold (VII) 570 for a second overmodulation region 430, and switching vectors V1 (302), V2 (304), and V3 (306). FIG. 5B is a blown up view of modulation regions 410, 420, 430 of FIG. 5A in greater detail and shows intersection points 422, 432, 436, 438 between the decagon region 310 and the linear modulation region 410, the first overmodulation region 420, and the second overmodulation region 430.

Performance of PWM can be characterized by modulation index (MI), which can be defined as a normalized fundamental reference voltage. As used herein, “modulation index (MI)” is the ratio of the peak fundamental phase voltage (Vr) to the maximum available voltage. The MI can be defined via the equation

${{MI} = {\frac{V_{r}}{V_{d\; c}} \cdot \frac{\pi}{2}}},$ where V_(r)=√{square root over (V_(d) ²+V_(q) ²)}, and Vd and Vq are the d-axis voltage command signal (Vd*) 172 and the q-axis voltage command signal (Vq*) 174 that are output by current controller 170. The range of modulation index is from 0 to 1.

In the first sector (sector 1) between V1 and V2, the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector can be represented in equation (3) as a function of time as follows: V _(r) T _(pwm) =V ₁ t ₁ +V ₂ t ₂ +V ₀(T _(pwm) −t ₁ −t ₂)  (3)

where V1 is the large voltage switching vector (V1) which has a corresponding switch state bit pattern (11001), V2 is the large voltage switching vector (V2) which has a corresponding switch state bit pattern (11000), and V0 is the zero voltage switching vector (V0) which has a corresponding switch state bit pattern (00000). The time (t1) is the time duration that the large voltage switching vector (V1) is used to generate the reference voltage vector, the time (t2) is the time duration that that the large voltage switching vector (V2) is used to generate the reference voltage vector, and the period (T_(pwm)) is the fundamental pulse width modulation period. The time period T_(pwm)−t₁−t₂ is the time duration that the zero voltage switching vector (V0) is used to generate the reference voltage vector. These times will be described in greater detail below with respect to each modulation region.

The large voltage switching vector (V1) has a magnitude that can be represented in equation (4) as a function of the DC link voltage (Vdc) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {V_{1} = {\left( {\frac{1}{5} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{5}}} \right)V_{d\; c}}} & (4) \end{matrix}$

The large voltage switching vector (V2) can be represented in equation (5) as a function of the large voltage switching vector (V1) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {V_{2} = {V_{1}{\mathbb{e}}^{j\frac{\pi}{5}}}} & (5) \end{matrix}$

The linear region voltage threshold (Vlin) 550 for the linear modulation region 410 has a magnitude that can be represented in equation (6) as a function of the large voltage switching vector (V1) and the DC link voltage (Vdc) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {V_{l\; i\; n} = {{V_{1}{\cos\left( \frac{\pi}{10} \right)}} = {\frac{\sqrt{5 + {2\sqrt{5}}}}{5}V_{d\; c}}}} & (6) \end{matrix}$

The first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for the first overmodulation region 420 has a magnitude that can be represented in equation (7) as a function of the DC link voltage (Vdc) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {V_{I} = {\frac{\sqrt{5 + {2\sqrt{5}}}}{\pi}{\ln\left( \frac{2 + \sqrt{5}}{\sqrt{5}} \right)}V_{d\; c}}} & (7) \end{matrix}$

The second voltage threshold (VII) 570 for the second overmodulation region 430 has a magnitude that can be represented in equation (8) as a function of the DC link voltage (Vdc) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {V_{II} = {\frac{2}{\pi}V_{d\; c}}} & (8) \end{matrix}$

In a five-phase system, three important modulation regions 410, 420, 430 can be defined in terms of their modulation index. The regions are defined as the linear modulation region 410, the first overmodulation region 420, and the second overmodulation region 430. In the linear modulation region 410 the modulation index ranges between zero and 0.9669 as described in expression (9) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{{MI} \in \left\lbrack {0,\frac{\pi\sqrt{5 + {2\sqrt{5}}}}{10}} \right\rbrack} = \left\lbrack {0,0.9669} \right\rbrack} & (9) \end{matrix}$

In the first overmodulation region 420 the modulation index ranges between 0.9669 and 0.9832 as described in expression (10) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{{MI} \in {\frac{\pi\sqrt{5 + {2\sqrt{5}}}}{10}\left\lbrack {1,{\frac{5}{\pi}{\ln\left( \frac{2 + \sqrt{5}}{\sqrt{5}} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}} = \left\lbrack {0.9669,0.9832} \right\rbrack} & (10) \end{matrix}$

In the second overmodulation region 430 the modulation index ranges between 0.9832 and 1.0000 as described in expression (11) as follows: MIε[0.9832,1]  (11). Overmodulation of a Five-Phase Machine

Having identified the three important modulation regions 410, 420, 430, methods, systems and apparatus for overmodulation will now be described.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments, methods, systems and apparatus are provided for increasing output voltage generated by the inverter module 110 via overmodulation. In brief, overmodulation is used to optimize voltage commands 182, 184 that control the five-phase PWM controlled inverter module 110 to increase inverter output voltage that is provided to the five-phase machine 120. By increasing the inverter output voltage through overmodulation, the maximum available mechanical torque generated by the five-phase machine 120 can be improved/increased, which in turn can improve/increase machine efficiency and improve dynamic performance of five-phase machine. Moreover, this can also increase the modulation index (MI), which allows for the utilization of the battery voltage (Vdc) to be improved. Methods, systems and apparatus for overmodulation in accordance with some embodiments will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6-8.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart that illustrates a method 600 for overmodulating a reference voltage vector (Vr, α) that represents voltage commands 182, 184 that control a five-phase inverter module 110 that drives a five-phase AC machine in a five-phase system in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. Overmodulation optimizes the voltage commands 182, 184 that control the five-phase inverter module 110 to increase voltage signals generated by the five-phase inverter module 110. The steps of method 600 can be performed by the overmodulation preprocessor 180 of FIG. 1.

Method 600 begins at step 610, where the overmodulation preprocessor 180 receives the synchronous reference frame d-axis and q-axis voltage command signals (Vd*, Vq*) 172, 174 from the current regulator 170. The overmodulation preprocessor 180 uses the voltage command signals (Vd*, Vq*) 172, 174 to determine the magnitude (Vr) 540 and angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector. In one embodiment, the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector can be computed using equation (12) and the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector can be computed using equation (13) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {V_{r} = \sqrt{V_{d}^{2} + V_{q}^{2}}} & (12) \\ {\alpha = {\arctan\left( \frac{V_{q}}{V_{d}} \right)}} & (13) \end{matrix}$

At step 620, the overmodulation preprocessor 180 determines whether the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a voltage threshold (Vlin) 550 for the linear modulation region 410. This way the overmodulation preprocessor 180 can determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the linear modulation region 410.

Linear Modulation Region

When the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is determined to be less than or equal to the voltage threshold (Vlin) 550 for the linear modulation region 410 this means that the reference voltage vector is within the linear modulation region 410, and that overmodulation does not need to be implemented. As such, the magnitude (Vr) 540 and angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector do not need to be modified and remain unchanged, and the method 600 proceeds to step 640, where the overmodulation preprocessor 180 sets a value of a modified magnitude (Vr*) equal to the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector and sets a value of a modified angle (α*) equal to the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector. The method then proceeds to step 670 as will be described below.

Non-linear Modulation Regions

When the overmodulation preprocessor 180 determines that the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is greater than the linear region voltage threshold (Vlin) 550 this means that the reference voltage vector is outside of the linear modulation region 410. As such, the method 600 proceeds to step 630 so that the overmodulation preprocessor 180 can determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the first overmodulation region 420 or the second overmodulation region 430 by determining whether the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for the first overmodulation region 420.

First Overmodulation Region

As detailed above, in the first overmodulation region 420 the modulation index ranges between 0.9669 and 0.9832. As will be described in more detail below, when the reference voltage vector is determined to be in the first overmodulation region 420, the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is modified, while the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector is unchanged.

To explain further with reference to FIG. 5A, in the first overmodulation region 420, whenever operating conditions require that the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector should exceed or “extend past” a boundary of the decagon region 310, the actual voltage switching vector will be limited to decagon region 310. In other words, as the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector starts increasing after the linear region voltage threshold (Vlin) 550, it encounters a limitation imposed by the decagon region 310 near the corners of the particular sector 1 that can not be exceeded.

As such, the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector is modified at step 650 by multiplying it by the correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710 (FIG. 7) for the first overmodulation region 420, which is a value larger than one.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments, switching times can be implemented according to time intervals t0, t1, t2 are indicated in the expressions (14) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{{t_{1} = {T_{pwm}\frac{2\cos\left( \frac{\pi}{5} \right){\sin\left( {{\frac{\pi}{5}n} - \alpha} \right)}}{\sin\left( {{\frac{\pi}{5}\left( {3 - n} \right)} + \alpha} \right)}}};}{{t_{2} = {T_{pwm}\frac{2\cos\left( \frac{\pi}{5} \right){\sin\left( {\alpha - {\left( {n - 1} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}}} \right)}}{\sin\left( {{\frac{\pi}{5}\left( {3 - n} \right)} + \alpha} \right)}}};}{t_{0} = 0}} & (14) \end{matrix}$

where T_(pwm) is the pulse width modulation period (T_(pwm)), n is the sector number, and α is the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector.

As such, for any angle α, the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector is multiplied by the correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710 for the first overmodulation region 420 because the decagon region 310 limit is reached when t0 becomes negative, and then the calculation is modified according to expressions (14).

When the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector enters into the decagon region 310, then a switching method is applied according to time intervals (t0, t1, t2) as indicated in the expressions (15) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{{t_{1} = {{k({MI})}{MI}\;\frac{\pi\; T_{pwm}}{5}\frac{\sin\left( {{\frac{\pi}{5}n} - \alpha} \right)}{\sin^{2}\left( \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)}}};}{{t_{2} = {{k({MI})}{MI}\;\frac{\pi\; T_{pwm}}{5}\frac{\sin\left( {\alpha - {\frac{\pi}{5}\left( {n - 1} \right)}} \right)}{\sin^{2}\left( \frac{2\pi}{5} \right)}}};}{t_{0} = {T_{pwm} - t_{1} - t_{2}}}} & (15) \end{matrix}$

where k(MI) is a correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710 that is a function of the modulation index. The correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710 is used only in the first overmodulation region 420 to adjust the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector and cause the fundamental component of inverter output voltage to be the same as its commanded value. In other words, as the magnitude (Vr) of the reference voltage vector approaches the corner of the sector, t0 becomes positive again and equation (15) is applied since positive t0 can be achieved only until the first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for the first overmodulation region 420 is reached. Beyond the first overmodulation region 420 up to the second overmodulation region 430, there is no t0 anymore.

As such, when the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the first overmodulation region 420, the overmodulation preprocessor 180 modifies the magnitude of the reference voltage vector, and maintains the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector. Thus, when the overmodulation preprocessor 180 determines (at step 630) that the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to the first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for the first overmodulation region 420 (i.e., the reference voltage vector is within the first overmodulation region 420), the method 600 proceeds to step 650.

At step 650, the overmodulation preprocessor 180 computes a modified magnitude (Vr*) of the reference voltage vector based on the product of the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector and the correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710, and sets a modified angle (α*) equal to the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector. FIG. 7 is a graph that plots correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710 for the first overmodulation region 420 as a function of modulation index (MI) in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7, in the first overmodulation region 420, the MI ranges from approximately 0.9669 to 0.9832. As such, the correction factor coefficient k(MI) 710 begins at a value of one (1) for a MI of 0.9669 and increases up to a value of approximately 1.03402 when it reaches a MI of approximately 0.9832, which is the solution of equation (16)

$\begin{matrix} {{{{{{\frac{10}{\pi}V_{I}k\;{\arcsin\left( \frac{V_{lin}}{V_{I}k} \right)}} + {\frac{10V_{lin}}{\pi}{\ln\left( \frac{{V_{I}k} + \sqrt{\left( {V_{I}k} \right)^{2} - V_{lin}^{2}}}{V_{lin}} \right)}} - {V_{I}\left( {1 + {4k}} \right)}} = 0}\mspace{20mu}{where}\mspace{20mu} V_{I}} = {{\frac{\sqrt{5 + {2\sqrt{5}}}}{\pi}{\ln\left( \frac{2 + \sqrt{5}}{\sqrt{5}} \right)}} = 0.625919}}\mspace{20mu}{V_{lin} = {\frac{\sqrt{5 + {2\sqrt{5}}}}{5} = 0.615537}}} & (16) \end{matrix}$

In one embodiment of step 650, the modified magnitude (Vr*) of the reference voltage vector can be computed using equation (17) as follows: V _(r) *=V _(r) ·k(MI)  (17)

The method then proceeds to step 670, which will be described below.

Second Overmodulation Region

When the overmodulation preprocessor 180 determines (at step 630) that the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is greater than the first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for the first overmodulation region 420, this means that the reference voltage vector is within the second overmodulation region 430 and the method 600 proceeds to step 660.

In second overmodulation region 430, both the magnitude (Vr) 540 and the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector are modified. In particular, the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector changes gradually from a continuous decagon region 310 to a discrete ten-step switching sequence. The ten-step switching sequence is defined by holding a particular state space vector for one-tenth ( 1/10^(th)) of fundamental period (Tpwm). Reducing the modulation index from unity makes particular state space vector held for time that is equivalent to a hold angle (α_(h)(MI)) as indicated in expression (18) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {{{\alpha_{h}({MI})} \in \left\lbrack {0,\frac{\pi}{10}} \right\rbrack},} & (18) \end{matrix}$

where the hold angle (α_(h)(MI)) is a function of the modulation index. FIG. 8 is a graph that plots hold angle α_(h)(MI) 810 (in degrees) for the second overmodulation region 430 as a function of modulation index (MI) in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. In the second overmodulation region 430, the MI ranges from approximately 0.9832 to 1.0. The hold angle α_(h)(MI) 810 begins at a value of zero degrees for a MI of 0.9832 and increases to a value of approximately 18 degrees when it reaches a MI of approximately 1.0. This hold angle (α_(h)(MI)) is zero on the bound of the first overmodulation region 420. The reference voltage vector follows the shape of the decagon region 310 with switching times calculated appropriately.

In one implementation of step 660, the overmodulation preprocessor 180 computes the modified magnitude (Vr*) and the modified angle (α*) of the reference voltage vector using equation (19) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {\left\lbrack {V_{r}^{*},\alpha^{*}} \right\rbrack = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {\left\lbrack {V_{n},{\left( {n - 1} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}}} \right\rbrack,} & {{\left( {n - 1} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}} \leq \alpha < {{\left( {n - 1} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}} + \alpha_{h}}} \\ {\begin{bmatrix} {\frac{V_{lin}}{\sin\left( {\frac{{5\alpha} - {25\alpha_{h}} + {\left( {3 - n} \right)\pi}}{\pi - {10\alpha_{h}}}\frac{\pi}{5}} \right)},} \\ {\frac{\alpha - {\left( {{2n} - 1} \right)\alpha_{h}}}{\frac{\pi}{5} - {2\alpha_{h}}}\frac{\pi}{5}} \end{bmatrix},} & {{{\left( {n - 1} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}} + \alpha_{h}} \leq \alpha \leq {{n\;\frac{\pi}{5}} - \alpha_{h}}} \\ {\left\lbrack {V_{n + 1},{n\;\frac{\pi}{5}}} \right\rbrack,} & {{{n\;\frac{\pi}{5}} - \alpha_{h}} < \alpha < {n\;\frac{\pi}{5}}} \end{matrix} \right.} & (19) \end{matrix}$

where n represents the sector number (n), and α_(h) represents the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 810. As shown in equation (19), the modified magnitude (Vr*) and modified angle (α*) of the reference voltage vector vary based on the sector number (n) and the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 810. Each sector n can be divided into three regions defined by the value of the reference angle α. In the first region where α varies from the beginning sector boundary up to α_(h), the modified magnitude (Vr*) and modified angle (α*) get magnitude and angle values of the switching vector which defines the beginning sector boundary. In the third region when α changes between ending boundary of the sector and angle preceding this boundary for αh, the modified magnitude (Vr*) and modified angle (α*) get magnitude and angle values of the switching vector which defines the ending sector boundary. In the second region which is between the first and third regions, the modified magnitude (Vr*) gets values corresponding to decagon boundary 310 in the function of modified angle (α*) which has higher angular speed than reference angle α.

Computation of Modified Synchronous Reference Frame Voltage Command Signal Based on Modified Reference Voltage Vector

Referring again to FIG. 6, following step 640, 650 or 660, the method 600 then proceeds to step 670, where the overmodulation preprocessor 180 computes a modified synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal (Vd**) 182 and a modified synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal (Vq**) 184 based on the modified magnitude (Vr*) and the modified angle (α*) of the reference voltage vector that were determined at step 640, 650 or 660. In one embodiment, the modified synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal (Vd**) 182 can be computed using equation (20) and the modified synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal (Vq**) 184 can be computed using equation (21) as follows: V _(d) **=V _(r)**cos(α*)  (20) V _(q) **=V _(r)**sin(α*)  (21) Control of Third Harmonic Voltage in Second Overmodulation Region

According to the method 600, techniques are described that can be used to overmodulate a reference voltage vector to optimize voltage command signals that control a five-phase inverter module to increase output voltages generated by an inverter module that drives a multi-phase AC machine. These overmodulation techniques can increase mechanical torque generated by the five-phase machine, which can improve machine efficiency and performance, as well as utilization of the DC voltage source. Although these overmodulation techniques can provide many benefits in a five-phase system, it would be desirable to further increase output power and available mechanical torque generated by the multi-phase machine so that the efficiency and dynamic performance of the multi-phase machine can be improved.

The overmodulation techniques that are described in conjunction with FIG. 6 control a fundamental component of voltage in the overmodulation region. However, the higher harmonic (e.g., third harmonic voltage that is determined by fundamental voltage) magnitudes and phases are not controlled. There is no mechanism for modifying the reference voltage vector to control third harmonic voltage in the overmodulation region since phase angle (α) of the reference voltage vector (Vr) is not controlled. For instance, at step 660, it is presumed that the fundamental angle is 0° and that the third harmonic angle is 180°. As such, it would be desirable to provide techniques for controlling third harmonic voltage in the overmodulation region.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments, methods, systems and apparatus are provided for PWM control of multi-phase inverter module 110 (e.g., a voltage source inverter (VSI), such as a five-phase VSI) to further increase output voltage generated by the inverter module 110 via overmodulation. Overmodulation is used to optimize voltage commands 182, 184 that control the five-phase PWM controlled inverter module 110 to increase inverter output voltage that is provided to the five-phase machine 120.

More specifically, the disclosed embodiments provide PWM controlled systems, apparatus, and methods for controlling magnitude and phase of third harmonic voltage (when a multi-phase machine operates) in the overmodulation region to allow for third harmonic current to be controlled. By controlling the third harmonic current through overmodulation, output power generated by the multi-phase machine can be increased, which can increase torque density and available mechanical torque generated by the multi-phase machine 120 (e.g., shaft torque). By increasing output mechanical power, the efficiency and dynamic performance of the multi-phase machine can be improved. Moreover, this allows for the utilization of the battery voltage (Vdc) to be improved. One example implementation of these overmodulation techniques will now be described with reference to FIGS. 9-14.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart that illustrates a method 900 for overmodulating a reference voltage vector (Vr, α) that represents voltage commands 182, 184 that control a five-phase inverter module 110 that drives a five-phase AC machine in a five-phase system in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. Overmodulation optimizes the voltage commands 182, 184 that control the five-phase inverter module 110 to increase voltage signals generated by the five-phase inverter module 110. The steps of method 900 can be performed by the overmodulation preprocessor 180 of FIG. 1.

Steps 910, 920, 930, 940, 950 and 970 of method 900 are identical to steps 610, 620, 630, 640, 650 and 670 of FIG. 6. As such, for sake of brevity, those steps will not be repeated here again. When the overmodulation preprocessor 180 determines (at step 930) that the magnitude (Vr) 540 of the reference voltage vector is greater than the first voltage threshold (VI) 560 for the first overmodulation region 420, this means that the reference voltage vector is within the second overmodulation region 430 and the method 900 proceeds to step 960. In some implementations, the disclosed embodiments can be used, for example, in conjunction with overmodulation techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/722,166 such that the overmodulation preprocessor 180 can use step 660 of FIG. 6 to control the fundamental component of the voltage, whereas step 960 of FIG. 9 can be used to control the fundamental and the third harmonic component of the voltage. In other words, although the method 600 allows for the fundamental component of the voltage to be controlled, but does not allow for control of the third harmonic component of the voltage. By contrast, method 900 allows for reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) to be modified in a way to change angular speed of reference voltage vector, resulting in variation of the third harmonic component of the voltage, and thus provides flexibility in controlling the third harmonic component of the voltage and the fundamental component of the voltage in the overmodulation region.

In second overmodulation region 430, both the magnitude (Vr) 540 and the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector are modified. In one implementation of step 960, the overmodulation preprocessor 180 computes the modified magnitude (Vr*) and the modified angle (α*) of the reference voltage vector using equation (22) as follows:

$\begin{matrix} {\left\lbrack {V_{r}^{*},\alpha^{*}} \right\rbrack = \left\{ {\left\lbrack {\frac{V_{lin}}{\sin\left( {\alpha_{p} + {\left( {3 - n} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}}} \right)},\alpha_{p}} \right\rbrack,{{\left( {n - 1} \right)\frac{\pi}{5}} \leq \alpha \leq {n\;\frac{\pi}{5}}},} \right.} & (22) \end{matrix}$

where Vlin is the voltage threshold (Vlin) 550 for the linear modulation region 410, where α_(p) is a reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)), and where n represents the sector number (n). The reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) belongs to fundamental voltage reference, because its average angular speed is the same as fundamental harmonic angular speed. Equation (22) is used to compute the modified magnitude (Vr*) and the modified angle (α*) of the reference voltage vector.

The modified magnitude (Vr*) is modified per expression V_(lin)/(sin(α_(p)+(3−n)π/5). In the second overmodulation region 430, The modified magnitude (Vr*) of the reference voltage vector follows the shape of the decagon line 310 of FIG. 4 and with switching times calculated appropriately. For a given phase angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 in a particular sector, the modified magnitude (Vr*) of the reference voltage vector is always a function of the decagon line 310 of FIG. 4 (e.g., between two active voltage switching vectors that define a particular sector).

As the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 proceeds around the decagon line 310, the phase angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 is modified. Specifically, the modified reference voltage vector angle (α*) of the reference voltage vector is modified per a reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) as illustrated in equation (23):

$\begin{matrix} {\alpha_{p} = {\frac{\pi}{10} + {\left( {\frac{\pi}{10} - k} \right)\frac{\arctan\left( {{A\left( {{\frac{10}{\pi}\alpha} - 1} \right)}{\tan\left( \frac{\pi}{10} \right)}} \right)}{\arctan\left( {A\;{\tan\left( \frac{\pi}{10} \right)}} \right)}} + {\quad{{\ldots\mspace{14mu}\ldots} + \mspace{509mu}{k\;{\sin\left( {{15\left( {\alpha - \frac{\pi}{10}} \right)} + \varphi} \right)}}}}}} & (23) \end{matrix}$

The reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) is used to control the phase angle of the third harmonic voltage such that the angular speed at which the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector proceeds around the decagon line 310 changes. For instance, in sector 1, as the reference voltage vector (Vr) proceeds through the first sector, the angular speed of the reference voltage vector (Vr) between the active voltage switching vector (V1) 302 and the middle of the sector can be different that the angular speed of the reference voltage vector (Vr) between the middle of the sector and the active voltage switching vector (V2) 304.

The reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) is a function of the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector, a reference angle speed modification coefficient (A), a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k), and a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ). The third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k), and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) control parameters are used to control the phase angle of the third harmonic voltage.

The reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) allows for the magnitude of the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 to be changed as the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 proceeds around the decagon line 310. The reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is similar to the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 810. When the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero, reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) is changing linearly from zero to π/5 (the hold angle α_(h)(MI) is equal to 0). When the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) approaches infinity, then the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 810 is equal to π/10. As the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) increases, the magnitude of the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 increases, and as the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) decreases, the magnitude of the reference voltage vector (Vr) 540 decreases.

The third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) are used to change the angular speed at which the reference voltage vector (Vr) proceeds around the decagon line 310 (i.e., to control the rate of change the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector). By controlling the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) per equation (23) more voltage is available during overmodulation.

FIG. 10 illustrates graphs 1005, 1040 that plot the reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) as a function of the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments.

Specifically, graph 1005 illustrates a plot the reference voltage overmodulation control angle described in FIG. 6 as a function of the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector, and illustrates that the reference voltage overmodulation control angle has a zero value that does not change until the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector is at the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 1010 at which point the reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) begins increasing linearly at a certain speed along line 1030 up until the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector reaches the dashed line (a value of π/5 minus the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 1010, 0.628-0.158 which is approximately 0.47), where the reference voltage overmodulation control angle has a value of π/5 (0.628) that does not change. In other words, the reference voltage overmodulation control angle has a zero value that does not change when the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector is between 0 and the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 1010, and when the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector is reaches the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 1010, the reference voltage overmodulation control angle begins increasing linearly at a certain speed along line 1030 up until the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector reaches a value of π/5 minus the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 1010 (i.e., the dashed line). After the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector reaches the value of π/5 minus the hold angle α_(h)(MI) 1010, the reference voltage overmodulation control angle has a value of π/5 (0.628) that does not change.

By contrast, graph 1040 illustrates a plot of the reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) as a function of the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector, when the reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) is varied per equation (23). The reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) starts at a zero value but begins to change per equation (23) as soon as the angle (α) 542 of the reference voltage vector begins to change. The reference voltage overmodulation control angle (α_(p)) reaches a maximum value of π/5 (0.628) at the same time needed for fundamental harmonic angular speed to reach the angle of π/5.

FIG. 11 is a series of graphs 1110A-F that plot a fundamental magnitude change (ΔV₁) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. The graphs 1110A-F illustrate the fundamental magnitude change (ΔV₁) when the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero, the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) varies between 0.5 and −0.5, and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) varies over 360°. Specifically, each graph 1110A-F corresponds to a particular value of the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k). Graph 1110A corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.05. Graph 1110B corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.03. Graph 1110C corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.01. Graph 1110D corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.01. Graph 1110E corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.03. Graph 1110F corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.05. When the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero and the fundamental magnitude change (ΔV₁) is greater than zero, this indicates that the reference voltage vector (Vr) is on line 420 of FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B. When the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero and the fundamental magnitude change (ΔV₁) is less than zero, this indicates that the reference voltage vector (Vr) is on line 420 of FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B.

FIG. 12 is a series of graphs 1210A-F that plot a third harmonic magnitude change (ΔV₃) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. Similar to FIG. 11, the graphs 1210A-F illustrate the third harmonic magnitude change (ΔV₃) when the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero, the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) varies between 0.5 and −0.5, and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) varies over 360°. Specifically, each graph 1210A-F corresponds to a particular value of the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k). Graph 1210A corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.05. Graph 1210B corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.03. Graph 1210C corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.01. Graph 1210D corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.01. Graph 1210E corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.03. Graph 1210F corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.05.

A comparison of the corresponding graphs 1210A-F and 1110A-F shows that the third harmonic magnitude changes (ΔV₃) (as the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) vary) are much greater than the corresponding fundamental magnitude changes (ΔV₁) by nearly a magnitude. For example, by changing the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) the relative change of the third harmonic magnitude change (ΔV₃) in graph 1210A is about a magnitude greater than with respect to the corresponding fundamental magnitude change (ΔV₁) in graph 1110A. Thus, changes in the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) have a greater impact on the third harmonic magnitude changes (ΔV₃) than on the corresponding fundamental magnitude changes (ΔV₁).

FIG. 13 is a series of graphs 1310A-F that plot a fundamental phase angle change (Δγ₁) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. The graphs 1310A-F illustrate the fundamental phase angle change (Δγ₁) when the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero, the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) varies between 0.5 and −0.5, and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) varies over approximately 360°. Each graph 1310A-F corresponds to a particular value of the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k). Graph 1310A corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.05. Graph 1310B corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.03. Graph 1310C corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.01. Graph 1310D corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.01. Graph 1310E corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.03. Graph 1310F corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.05.

FIG. 14 is a series of graphs 1410A-F that plot a third harmonic phase angle change (Δγ₃) as a function of a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) when third harmonic voltage is controlled in the overmodulation region in accordance with some of the disclosed embodiments. Each graph 1410A-F corresponds to a particular value of the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k). Graph 1410A corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.05. Graph 1410B corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.03. Graph 1410C corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of −0.01. Graph 1410D corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.01. Graph 1410E corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.03. Graph 1410F corresponds to a third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) of 0.05.

Graph 1310F shows that when the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero, the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) is 0.05, the fundamental phase angle change (Δγ₁) has a maximum angular change of approximately 1.2° and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) varies over approximately 330°. By contrast, graph 1410F shows that when the reference angle speed modification coefficient (A) is zero, the third harmonic magnitude coefficient (k) is 0.05, the third harmonic phase angle change (Δγ₃) has a maximum angular change of approximately 2.8° and the third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient (φ) varies over approximately 330°.

Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Some of the embodiments and implementations are described above in terms of functional and/or logical block components (or modules) and various processing steps. However, it should be appreciated that such block components (or modules) may be realized by any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions.

To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention. For example, an embodiment of a system or a component may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments described herein are merely exemplary implementations.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In this document, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Numerical ordinals such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. simply denote different singles of a plurality and do not imply any order or sequence unless specifically defined by the claim language. The sequence of the text in any of the claims does not imply that process steps must be performed in a temporal or logical order according to such sequence unless it is specifically defined by the language of the claim. The process steps may be interchanged in any order without departing from the scope of the invention as long as such an interchange does not contradict the claim language and is not logically nonsensical.

Furthermore, depending on the context, words such as “connect” or “coupled to” used in describing a relationship between different elements do not imply that a direct physical connection must be made between these elements. For example, two elements may be connected to each other physically, electronically, logically, or in any other manner, through one or more additional elements.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for overmodulating a reference voltage vector to optimize voltage command signals that control a five-phase inverter module to increase output voltages generated by the five-phase inverter module, the method comprising: determining a magnitude and an angle of the reference voltage vector based on the voltage command signals; determining whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a threshold; and generating a modified magnitude and a modified angle of the reference voltage vector based on the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and the angle of the reference voltage vector when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be less than or equal to a threshold, wherein the modified angle of the reference voltage vector is a reference voltage overmodulation control angle when the reference voltage vector is determined to be within an overmodulation region.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a threshold, comprises: determining whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a linear region voltage threshold for a linear modulation region to determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the linear modulation region.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining a magnitude and an angle of the reference voltage vector based on voltage command signals comprises: determining a magnitude and an angle of the reference voltage vector based on a synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal and a synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal.
 4. A method for overmodulating a reference voltage vector to optimize voltage command signals that control a five-phase inverter module to increase output voltages generated by the five-phase inverter module, the method comprising: determining a magnitude and an angle of the reference voltage vector based on the voltage command signals; determining whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a linear region voltage threshold for a linear modulation region to determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the linear modulation region; when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the linear region voltage threshold for the linear modulation region: determining whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a first voltage threshold for a first overmodulation region to determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the first overmodulation region or a second overmodulation region; and when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region and the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the second modulation region: generating a modified magnitude and a modified angle of the reference voltage vector based on the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and the angle of the reference voltage vector, wherein the modified angle of the reference voltage vector is a reference voltage overmodulation control angle.
 5. A method according to claim 4, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be less than or equal to the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region and the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the first overmodulation region, wherein the step of generating a modified magnitude and modified angle of the reference voltage vector comprises: generating a modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector based on the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and a correction factor coefficient and a modified angle of the reference voltage vector that is equal to the angle of the reference voltage vector.
 6. A method according to claim 4, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region and the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the second overmodulation region, wherein the step of generating a modified magnitude and modified angle of the reference voltage vector comprises: modifying the angle of the reference voltage vector to generate the reference voltage overmodulation control angle.
 7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the step of modifying the angle of the reference voltage vector to generate the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, comprises: modifying the angle of the reference voltage vector, based on a reference angle speed modification coefficient, a third harmonic magnitude coefficient, and a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient, to generate the reference voltage overmodulation control angle.
 8. A method according to claim 6, wherein the step of generating a modified magnitude and modified angle of the reference voltage vector comprises, further comprises: modifying the magnitude of the reference voltage vector, based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, to generate the modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector.
 9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the step of modifying the magnitude of the reference voltage vector, based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, to generate the modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector, further comprises: modifying the magnitude of the reference voltage vector, based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, a sector number and a voltage threshold for the linear modulation region, to generate the modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector.
 10. A five-phase system, comprising: a five-phase inverter module that generates an output voltages based on voltage command signals that control the five-phase inverter module; a five-phase machine driven by the output voltages generated by the five-phase inverter module; and an overmodulation processor designed to overmodulate a reference voltage vector to optimize the voltage command signals to increase the output voltages generated by the five-phase inverter module, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to generate a modified angle of the reference voltage vector, based on an angle of a reference voltage vector when the reference voltage vector is determined to be within an overmodulation region, wherein the modified angle is a reference voltage overmodulation control angle.
 11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to determine whether a magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a threshold, and generate a modified magnitude and a modified angle of the reference voltage vector based on the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and an angle of the reference voltage vector when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be less than or equal to a threshold, wherein the modified angle of the reference voltage vector is the reference voltage overmodulation control angle when the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the overmodulation region.
 12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to determine whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a linear region voltage threshold for a linear modulation region to determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the linear modulation region.
 13. A system according to claim 12, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the linear region voltage threshold for the linear modulation region, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to determine whether the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is less than or equal to a first voltage threshold for a first overmodulation region to determine whether the reference voltage vector is within the first overmodulation region or a second overmodulation region, wherein the overmodulation region is the second overmodulation region.
 14. A system according to claim 13, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be less than or equal to the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region and the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the first overmodulation region, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to generate a modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector based on the magnitude of the reference voltage vector and a correction factor coefficient.
 15. A system according to claim 13, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region and the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the second overmodulation region, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to generate a modified magnitude and a modified angle of the reference voltage vector.
 16. A system according to claim 13, when the magnitude of the reference voltage vector is determined to be greater than the first voltage threshold for the first overmodulation region and the reference voltage vector is determined to be within the second overmodulation region, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to modify the angle of the reference voltage vector to generate the modified angle of the reference voltage vector that is the reference voltage overmodulation control angle.
 17. A system according to claim 16, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to modify the angle of the reference voltage vector, based on a reference angle speed modification coefficient, a third harmonic magnitude coefficient, and a third harmonic phase angle modification coefficient, to generate the modified angle of the reference voltage vector that is a reference voltage overmodulation control angle.
 18. A system according to claim 16, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to modify the magnitude of the reference voltage vector, based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, to generate the modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector.
 19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the overmodulation processor is designed to modify the magnitude of the reference voltage vector, based on the reference voltage overmodulation control angle, a sector number and a voltage threshold for the linear modulation region, to generate the modified magnitude of the reference voltage vector.
 20. A system according to claim 10, wherein the overmodulation processor is further designed to: determine the magnitude and the angle of the reference voltage vector based on a synchronous reference frame d-axis voltage command signal and a synchronous reference frame q-axis voltage command signal. 